With
extraordinary musical skills and
polarizing humor at its best an
Icelandic band swings itself up to
crack the crusty music market open.
How the hell did that happen?
Stuđmenn were
founded in school, at "Menntaskólinn
Hamrahliđ" in Reykjavik. Their
debut album "Sumar á
Sýrlandi" in ´75 became an
instant success on the market and
critics cheered the band frenetically
as the milestone of Icelandic pop
music. Their music combined
high-flyingly
merry and higgledy-piggledy varied
songs, all with a twist, reflecting
icelandic characteristics and
changing society by collected tunes
and true icelandic lyrics.
After their
second album "Tivoli",
which set new records in sales, the
band went on to shoot a feature film.
The musical-comedy "Međ allt á
hreinu - On Top" is still the
most successful film in the history
of Icelandic cinema and is by now
quoted more in daily life than the
world-renowned saga-books.
Stuđmenn then
released a book with their graphical
artwork and lyrics, before they went
on to do another film called "
Kókóstré og Hvítir Mávar"
(Cool Jazz and Coconuts), a
cinematographical and musical
masterpiece of PopArt. On their
promotional tour for that movie the
Beatle Ringo Starr joined the band on
stage and is a massive follower ever
since.
In 1986
Stuđmenn followed an invitation of
the Chinese Government for touring in
China as the first Western band
(after Wham!, who gave up after one
concert). The group was frenetically
cheered by critics and audience in 12
major cities.
After Jakob
Magnússon was appointed Cultural
Attaché at the Icelandic Embassy in
London, the members of the band
turned to their solo projects. Egill
Ólafsson stared in over 30
critically acclaimed feature films,
appeared in numerous theatre playes
and musicals besides releasing
internationally praised solo albums.
Ragnhildur
Gísladóttir achieved outstanding
reviews in Great Britain and Germany
on her albums " Ragga and the
Jack Magic Orchestra" and
"Ragga and the Human Body
Orchestra" and also appeared in
feature films, there among in "
Honour of the House" (along with
Egill Ólafsson), which was
Iceland´s entry for the
"Oscar" in 1999. In the
same year Stuđmenn founded the
eco-campaign "Grćni
Herinn", and Egill Ólafsson was
chosen "best singer" of the
year.
During the
celebrations of the New Millenium
Stuđmenn were choosen "The Best
Dance Band of the Cecade" by
media and press. In 2001 their second
book " Í bláum skugga"
with photos of concerts by Thórarinn
Ó. Thórarinsson and lyrics of all
releases to date was published. In
addition their best-selling
compilation " Tvöfaldar
Bítiđ" was released,
consisting of 40 hit songs.
In 2002 the band
was invited to Scandinavia and
Germany, and there among entertained
35.000 people at an Open Air Festival
in Bavaria. In october the band
celebrated their stage anniversary
and hold a special concert at the
Icelandic National Theatre, which was
live recorded. This very record, Á
Stóra Svidinu, hit gold shortly
after its release and set an new
milestone in the quality and
entertainment of live music.
In 2003 and 2004
the band toured Germany and Russia
with outstanding success, signed a
record deal with a german label and
released their first international CD
"Six Geysirs & a Bird",
which was shockwaving the
international media and press.
Critics cheered them as
"miracle weapon
in terms of music and feel good times".
In December their latest movie
"Í takt viđ tímann"
premiered in Iceland.
And then there
was March 2005....
There
was the world´s most famous concert
hall, there was a band considered
Icelands most popular ever,
there
was audience and a high level of
expectancy - and everyone was
watching the vikings deliver!
Icelands
one and only pop art geezers performed
a one -off special concert at the
world-famous Royal Albert Hall in
London as the ultimate revue of
Icelands tunes of today.
In
2006 this very concert was released
on DVD, along with their feature film
"Í takt vid tímann/ Ahead of
Times".
Studmenn
currently have released two new
records and will be touring the UK,
Germany, Russia and Japan furthermore.